Lumber-stacking device.



W. GRAHAM. LUMBER STAGKING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAYa, 1909. 983,891 I Patented Feb. 14,1911.

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LUMBER STACKING DEVICE.

APPIJIOATION FILED MAY 3, 1909.

Patented Feb; 14, 1911.

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. "w. GRAHAM. LUMBER STAGKING DEVICE. APPLIOATfON FILED MAY 3, 1909.

. 983,891. Patented Feb. 14,1911.

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WILLIE GRAHAM, OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, ASSIGNOR TO ORLEANS DRY KILN &STACKER 00., A CORPORATION OF LOUISIANA.

LUMBER-STACKING DEVICE.

Application fi1ed May 3, 1909.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIE GRAHAM, a citizen of the United States, andresident of New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State ofLouisiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lumber-Stacking Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to lumber stackers and is designed particularlyto pile lumber on cars or kiln trucks preparatory to drying it.

My device as a whole is intended to pile the lumber on the truck in flatlayers or tiers, one above the other, with separating sticks regularlyand properly placed between the layers and with vertical spaces left forthe circulation of the air at intervals up through the lumber. Itincludes the vertically movable platform or pallet constitut ing a partof the track on which the cars or kiln trucks run, and means for raisingand lowering the platform so that the car on it will be in properposition to receive the successive layers of lumber and separatingsticks from the supply or feeding mechanism mounted in a fixed posit-ionconsiderably above the track. In the particular apparatus shown thelumber is accumulated by the feeding mechanism in layers wide enough tocover the car which it is intended to load, and the entire layer ispushed by the feeding mechanism at once on to the car, the separatingsticks are placed on it, and the layer is divided to form verticalpassages for the air. In the preferred form, these operations areautomatic, and the movable platform is automatically lowered each timeto receive the next successive layer of lumber. In my device the lumberis fed in in flat horizontal layers as distinguished from those stackerswhich place the lumber on edge.

In addition to the novel arrangement of the main parts of the apparatus,my invention includes many novel features which will be apparent fromthe following description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings.

The advantages of those features will furthermore be understood by thoseskilled in the art from the following description.

In the accompanying drawings,Figure 1 is a plan view showing more orless diagrammatically the arrangement of the parts of my apparatus; Fig.2 is a side elevation;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 14,1911.

Serial No. 493,683.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 2, showing parts inelevatlon; Flg. 4: is an enlarged detail View showing means foraccumulatlng the lumber and feeding 1t on to the car; Fig. 5 is a detailview of the mechanism for spacing the layers on the car so as to leavevertical passages; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the operating shaftsand their connections for the means for feeding and spacing the lumberand for feeding the separating sticks; Fig. 7 is an enlarged detailperspective view of one of the hoppers for containing the separatingsticks; and Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail view of the adjustable arm foroperating the elevating mechanism.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the lumber whichis to be piled on the cars preparatory to drying it is brought to thestacker from the mill or other source of supply by endless chains orconveyers, and therefore in the present case I have not thought itnecessary to show the details of such conveying means. In the drawings Ihave diagrammatically shown the ends of these conveying chains marked 7,and it will be observed that they pass over sprocket wheels 8 on theshaft B. It will be further observed that these chains bring the lumberup above a stationary platform 9 supported by posts 10 considerablyabove the ground. As hereafter described, this platform contains meansfor accumulating and supplying the lumber in layers to the car. At theend of the above described platform there is an open-sided well orchamber having at its corners the upright supporting posts 11, 12, andwithin this chamber the platform or pallet E is adapted to be raised andlowered. This movable platform has car tracks I which are in suchposition that when the platform is in its lowered position they will bein line with the tracks 13 which are on or above the ground and lead tothe kiln or other place desired. It will be apparent therefore that whenthe platform is in its lowered position the kiln cars D may be rolled onit from the track and when elevated the kiln cars move with it. Themeans for elevating the platform preferably consists in wire ropes 14:connected to the corners of the platform by eye-bolts 15 and passingover sheaves N at the top carried by the main frame of the platform.These ropes at one end of the apparatus pass down directly to thewinding drums F, while the ropes at the other end pass under sheave l6and then to the winding drums F. The shaft 17 on which the drums F aremounted is driven by a gear 18 from a worm on the shaft 19, the saidgear 18 being inclosed in the casingv Gr. It will be understood thatwhen it is de sired to commence loading the cars D they are elevatedwith the platform E until they are on a level with the platform 9 and inposition to receive the lumber fed in from platform 9.

The lumber which is brought to the stacker by the chains 7 is not placedthereon with much regularity, and therefore before pushing it onto thecar it is necessary to accumulate and bring into proper position such anumber of boards as will cover the car in the manner desired. In orderto effect this accumulation I have provided mechanism for stopping thelumber which is being brought in by the chains 7 and have also provideda supplemental conveyer made up of the endless chains 21 passing aroundsprocket wheels on the shafts A, C, and it will be understood that thissupplemental conveyer is capable of being controlled inclependently ofthe main conveying chains 7. The lumber is accumulated on thissupplemental conveyer with the boards close against each other, and theboards so accumulated are prevented from passing off of the conveyer bythe arm 20 which operates as a stop. The lumber so accumulated is at theproper time forced beneath the ends of the arms 20 by lugs V of peculiarform hereinafter described carried by the endless chains 21 of thesupplemental conveyer. In order to prevent buckling of this layer oflumber while it is being forced into position on the car I use presserbars P which extend entirely over the supplemental conveyer as well asover the car which is being loaded, and itwill be understood that therewill be any suitable number of these presser bars. They are forceddownwardly onto the lumber by means of springs, one of these springsbeing shown in Fig. t marked 22, and the other being shown at the otherend of the bar marked 6 in Fig. 7

As above stated it is necessary to stop the lumber being fed by theconveyer 7, and to effect this I prefer to use the peculiar form ofmechanism shown in Fig. 2 embodying the rocking arms K which operate asa secondary accumulator. These arms are piv oted between their ends at23 and at their ends carry the upwardly extending metal points 24, 25,which have vertical sides facing outwardly away from the machine. Thearm K is rocked on its pivot by a link arm 26 connected to the rockshaft 27 and this rock shaft is provided with any suitable handles oroperating means extending to a position convenient for the personrunning the machine. It will be observed that by rocking the arm K thepoints 24 and 25 are alternately brought into position in front of thelumber being brought in by the chains 7, and that therefore theyalternately stop that lumber. The operator will naturally first raisethe point 25, and when he has accumulated the amount of lumber desiredhe will rock the arm so as to elevate the point 24 and allow thisaccumulated lumber to pass onto the supplemental conveying chains 21.The distance between the points 2a and 25 is made just great enough toallow for the accumulation of a layer of lumber of the proper width forthe car. lVhen the lumber has been forced onto the car by the lugs V ofthe supplemental conveyer it will be in one continuous layer lying onthe separator sticks which are at right angles thereto, and it isdesirable to divide this layer so as to allow vertical air passagesthrough the lumber. In order to accomplish this division I use theseparating means shown in detail in Figs. 5 and 6. This means includes arock shaft Y having thereon the-arms 28 to which are secured the linkarms 29 and 30. These link arms are mounted to slide at their outerends'31, 32 011 the presser bars P, and they carry at their ends thesharp pointed forwardly inclined points 2 and 3 which are adapted toengage the upper surface of the lumber, as indicated in Fig. It will beobserved that the leverage for the link arm 30 is twice as great as thatfor the arm 29, and that therefore, while the point 2 moves the lumberin advance of it a sufiicient distance to form the opening 38, the point3 moves a sutficient distance to leave the second opening Set of thesame size. It will of course be understood that any number of theseseparators which are desired may be used.

lVhen a layer of lumber is in place on the car it is necessary to placeon it transverse separating sticks so as to permit the passage of airbetween-it and the next layer, and in order to get the best results andto prevent warping of the lumber it is necessary that these separatingsticks be placed in position with accuracy, one directly above theother. These separating sticks when they have passed through the kilnonce or twice are likely to become somewhat warped or twisted, andtherefore it has been diflicult to secure mechanical means for properlyfeeding and positioning these sticks. In my apparatus these sticks areheld in proper position without regard to any curvature therein and areplaced accurately one above the other without any binding in themechanism which feeds them. As indicated in Figs. 3 and L of thedrawings, I use a series of vertical open-sided hoppers S on each sideof the space above the car, these hoppers being arranged in pairs andthe distance between them being the length of the separating sticks. Oneend of the separating stick its in the hopper on one side and theopposite end in the hopper on the other side, and as hereafterexplained, it is merely necessary for a boy to keep these hopperssupplied with sticks in order to insure that they will be properlyplaced on the lumber. It will be seen by reference to Fig. 7 that thesehoppers have a rear wall and side walls flaring at the top, and a bottomwall, but no front wall. Just above the bottom wall the rear wall of thehoppers on the side opposite the feeding mechanism are provided withopenings 35 somewhat wider than the thickness of the separating stick.The hoppers on the side next to the feeding mechanism are provided withopenings 36 in the rear wall at the bottom which are not so wide as thethickness of the separating sticks. The separating sticks are normallysupported by the bottom walls of the hoppers and they are dischargedfrom those hoppers at the proper time by feeding mechanism, whichincludes the rocking arms 37, 38 mounted on the shafts N and 39. Thesetwo rock shafts are connected by the link arm It so that they will movetogether. The arm 37 has the pivoted toe or plunger 1 which enters theopening 36 in the hopper, thus striking the end of the bottom separatingstick and pushing it off the bottom-of the hopper so that it will beallowed to fall. In this operation the opposite end of the stick willnecessarily pass through the enlarged opening 35 in the opposite hopper.When the arms 37 and 38 are rocked in the opposite direction the toes orplungers 40 on the arm 38 engage the end of the separating stick whichhas been partially released and forces it out of the hopper so that thestick falls into position flat upon the layer of lumber. It will beunderstood that this operation takes place in the entire series ofhoppers at one time, all of them being constructed alike and each havingtoes or plunger-s for forcing out the sticks.

Since the side walls and bottoms of the hoppers S are narrow it will beobserved that the separating sticks O are held only at their ends, andthat therefore even if some of those sticks should happen to be bent orwarped they will be held accurately in a proper position. There willfurthermore be no binding which would interfere with the operation ofdropping the sticks into place, and therefore the operation of feedingthese sticks will proceed without interference whether or not they areall straight.

In order to permit the layer of lumber pressed down by the presser barsP to pass over the ends of the separating sticks lying on the precedinglayer of lumber I provide the movable plates or shields U which arecarried by the arms T mounted on the rock shaft X. These shields arepreferably made in the form of thin steel plates, and one of them isadapted to rest upon the exposed end of each of the separating sticks.The layer of lumber thus slides on these plates passing over theseparating sticks without striking their ends. The shaft X is rocked atproper intervals as hereafter described in order to move the plates Uout of the way when a new set of spacing sticks is being dropped ontothe car. It will be observed by reference to Fig. 7 that the spacingsticks are supplied immediately by the side of the presser bar P. Theinner end of this presser bar works against a bracket on the lower sideof the hopper S, this bracket being provided with a vertical flange 41which extends somewhat below the normal position of the presser bar. Apin 42 passes through the end of the presser bar and is surrounded bythe spring 6. The flange ll serves as an abutment against which thepresser bar bears, and thus prevents the presser bar from being pushedout of position by the friction of the lumber being pushed into lace,and this flange also serves as a stop for the lumber itself and for theseparating sticks at the rear side of the car. The arm 20 which operatesas a stop for the lumber just before it enters the car is rigidlysecured at its upper end to a beam l8 which is pivoted at its ends sothat it may rock. This beam also has an ear 4st which surrounds the bolt45 secured to the presser bar P, and it will be understood that this carmay be made integral with the arm 20 if desired, as shown in Fig. 1. Anupright arm 46 is also secured to the beam 43 and a cord 47 is securedto this arm and passes over the pulley 48 carrying on its lower end theweight 49 which tends to hold the beam in the position shown in Fig. l.By the above construction it will be observed that forced beneath theend of the arm 20 the beam as will be rocked on its pivot, the spring 22of the presser bar will be further compressed, and the weight li) willbe lifted. This additional pressure on the pressure bar at the time thatthe blocks or lugs V commence to move the layer of lumber is ofadvantage, since it prevents the buckling of the lumber. The lugs V aremade of the peculiar shape shown in Fig. t inorder to push the lumberout of the way of the protecting plates U, these lugs or blocks being inpractice made about seven inches long and four and one-half inches high,and they are provided with an incline on the front face as well as onthe rear face. These inclines as the block passes around the sprocketwheels on shaft 0 by a wiping action force the layer of lumber beyondthe ends of the plates U so that those plates may be raised out of theway.

In order to secure the automatic action of when lumber is the separatingmechanism and the means for feeding the separating sticks the variousoperating shafts are suitably connected together and they are operatedby a chain 50 which is outside of the path of the lumber and to one sideof the path of the frame, as will be seen by reference to Fig. 1. Thischain has at one point a roller 5 which when it reaches the end next tothe car will strike the arm 4 secured to the shaft V. As the rollerpasses forward around the sprocket wheel 52 on the shaftC it will carryforward the arm l, thus rocking the shaft W. It will be observed howeverthat near its enter the arm 4- has a side bend or notch 53 large enoughto permit the roller 51 to pass through it and there is a guide plate 54for directing the roller into that groove. After the roller has passedthrough this groove it will commence its return movement and will thenengage the outer curved end of the arm a and will draw it in its reversedirection until the roller passes off of the lower end 55. Its actiontherefore results in an oscillation of the shaft W. The shaft W isconnected by link arm 56 to the shaft X so that its oscillation isimparted to that shaft, and this results in raising the protectingplates U out of the way as above described. The shaft W is alsoconnected to the shaft Y by the arms 57, 58 and the link arm 59 and bythis means the separating points 2 and 3 are moved to separate thelumber just as the shaft lV operates the toes to deposit another set ofseparating sticks. It may sometimes happen that the layer of lumber iswider than desired or that the separating points 2 and 3 may strike anobstruction which prevents their movement forward for the accustomeddistance. Since however the shaft lV must necessarily be turned the sameamount each time by the roller 5 and arm t it is found advisable to havea somewhat flexible connection between that shaft and the shaft Y. inFig. (5 I have shown the arm 58 provided with a longitudinal slot 60 inwhich slides the pin 61 on the arm 59, and this arm 59 is held normallin position by spring (32. If one of the points 2 and 3 strikes anobstruction and cannot move forward the pin 61 will slide up the slot60, expanding the spring 62.

011 the opposite side of the chain 50 from the roller 5 there is anotherroller which is adapted to engage an arm 6% secured to turn with theshort shaft 65. Secured to the shaft 65 there is also an arm 66 havingthe link connection 67 for throwing into or out of operation the meansfor elevating and lowering the car E. The engagement of the roller 63with the arm 64 turns the shaft 65 and during the time that the arm M iselevated the car is being lowered. It will be understood that the arm(it returns to its normal or lowered position by gravity or by theaction of a spring as soon as the roller passes beyond the end thereof,and that the downward movement of the car E stops at that time. in orderto regulate the extent to which the car It descends I provide means forregulating the length of the arm 64: and consequently the time duringwhich it will be elevated by the roller. In order to accomplish this thearm 64 slides longitudinally in a bearing formed in the block 68 securedto the shaft 65, and the longitudinal position of the arm is controlledby a screw 69 engaging the block 68 at one end and hav ing screw threadconnection with the flange T0 of the arm. By thus regulating the lengthof the arm G-l the car E may descend just the amount necessary in orderto receive lumber of the particular thickness being handled by theoperator at the time. In order that this mechanism may be operated byhand a suitable hand lever 71 is provided and it will be understood thatit will be placed in a position convenient to the operator and will besuitably connected to the shaft (35. It will be further understood thatthe parts are so arranged and so timed that the car will be loweredafter the layer of lumber has been placed in position and after theseparating sticks have been dropped on it. The question as to whichparticular shaft of the machine operates the various sets of mechanismis of course immaterial so long as those parts are so connected as toeffect the various operations above inclicated, and so as to time thoseoperations so that they will occur in proper succession.

In order to make sure that the separating sticks fall into properposition after leav ing the hoppers it may be desirable to use the flatsprings 72 shown in Fig. 7, which serve as guides to direct the sticksand at the same time are so flexible that they will yield and bend outof position when the lumber is forced into place.

As shown in Fig. 2 l have provided a platform L extending along the sideabove the chamber in which the car moves and partly over theaccumulating mechanism, and it will be understood that the operatorstands on this platform and has convenient for his control the variouslevers for operating the mechanism. By the side of this platform thereis a lower platform M upon which the separating sticks are ordinarilykept in con venient position to be dropped into the hop pers.

The power for operating the entire machine is applied to the pulley 7 3on the shaft 74 and this shaft has on it two oppositely facing bevelfriction gears 75, 76, which are preferably made of paper. Trey areadapted to be brought into engagement with the metal bevel friction disk77 on shaft 78, and it will be understood that the shaft 78 will bedriven in one direction or in the other in accordance with which one ofthe friction disks 75, 76 is in engagement with it. Any suitable meansmay be employed for shifting the parts so as to bring one or the otherof these gears into engagement, and this may be by an oscillation of theshaft 78 iiseif. The shaft '78 has a bevel toothed gear 79 which engagesthe corresponding gear 80 on the shaft 19 which carries the wormengaging the gear 18 connected to the winding drums. By turning theshaft 78 there fore in one direction or the other the elevating chainsare wound or unwound on the drums F. The shaft 74 has on its end thepinion 81 which engages the larger pinions 82, 83 on shafts 84, 85. Theshaft 85 by chain and sprocket connection 86 drives the shaft B, whichcarries the main conveying chains 7, and the shaft 84, by the chain andsprocket connection 87, drives the shaft C, which carries thesupplemental conveying chains 21. The hand lever 88 by link connection89 controls the operation of the shaft 85, and the hand lever 90 throughthe link connection 91 controls the operation of the shaft 84. The shaft85 driving the main chains 7 is normally allowed to run continuouslywhile the shaft Set is stopped intermittently as the lumber isaccumulated and driven onto the car. The link connections 89, 91 forthrowing the gears 82 and 83 into and out of operation may be of anysuitable and well known kind.

It will be observed that the hoppers or guide ways S for the separatingsticks are above and at opposite sides of the lumber stacking platformand that they extend down to a point immediately above that 00-- cupiedby the top layer of lumber so that the sticks have only a short distanceto fall when they are discharged from the hoppers and consequently willnot be displaced. Their motion in being discharged is longitudinal andis for such a short distance that there is practically no tendency todisplace them laterally. It has been found practically impossible topush the sticks longitudinally from one side clear across the stackwithout displacing them and it was to overcome such difficulties that mystick feeding mechanism was devised.

The spacing arms 80 preferably slide at their outer ends 31, 32 on thetops of the presser bars and the points 2 and 3 pass down through slots92 formed on those bars. The slots may be formed as shown in Fig. 2 byseparate pieces 93 secured to the sides of the presser bars.

The stationary lumber support 9 is of course preferably made level andsince the lumber stacking platform E can be brought, and in the specificform shown is automatically brought, to such position that the top ofthe lumber with the separating sticks thereon is at the same height asthe lumber support it will be clear that the layer is forced in fiatcondition and in a straight line onto the stack of lumber. It will beobserved that the distance which the arm is placed from the sprocketwheel 52 at the end of the supplementary conveyer will control thetiming of the forward and backward movement of that arm and consequentlythe motion of the shields, the spacing mechanism and the stick feedingmechanism. The relative position on chain 51 of the roller 5 cooperatingwith arm 53 and roller 63 cooperating with arm 6e determines the timingof the platform lowering mechanism with reference to the operation ofplacing the lumber on the stack.

\Vhile I have referred to the conveyer and the part 51 as chains, itwill be understood to include any suitable endless belt and the termrollers applied to the parts 5 and 63 will be understood as includingany suitable projections. It will of course be further understood thatmy invention is not limited to the use of wire ropes for elevating theplatform since any other suitable elevating means may be used. Thetracks 13 are usually elevated several feet from the ground and usuallylead to kilns for drying the lumber, but my invention is not limited inthis respect since the cars or trucks on which the lumber has been piledmay be carried to any place desired.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a machine for stacking lumber, the combination with anelevatedlumber support or platform, of a vertically movable platform bythe side of said support, lumber trucks or cars on said movableplatform, and means for forcing lumber from said support to said cars soas to cover said cars or trucks in layers.

2. In a machine for stacking lumber, the combination with a lumbersupport, of a platform immediately by the side of but below saidsupport, lumber trucks or cars on said platform, and means for raisingand. lowering said platform so as to maintain the top of the lumber onsaid trucks level with said support.

3. In a machine for stacking lumber, the combination with a lumbersupport, of a platform immediately by the side of but below saidsupport, lumber trucks or cars on said platform, means for raising andlowering said platform so as to maintain the top of the lumber on saidtrucks level with said support, and means for feeding lumber from saidsupport to said trucks in flat horizontal layers.

4. In a machine for stacking lumber, the combination with a lumbersupport, of a platform immediately by the side of but below saidsupport, means for raising and lowering said platform at will andmaintaining it at any desired elevation, and means on said support foraccumulating and feeding lumber.

5. In a machine for stacking lumber, the combination with a lumbersupport, of a platform immediately by the side of but below saidsupport, lumber'trucks or cars on said platform, means for raising andlowering said platform so as to maintain the top of the lumber on saidtrucks level with said support, means for feeding lumber from saidsupport to said trucks in flat horizontal layers, and means above saidplatform for dropping spacing sticks in proper position on said layersof lumber.

6. In a machine for stacking lumber, the combination with a support, ofmeans thereon for accumulating a layer of lumber edge to edge of thewidth desired in the stack, and means for forcing the entire layer atonce onto thestack.

7. In a machine for stacking lumber, the combination with a support, ofmeans thereon for accumulating a layer of lumber edge to edge of thewidth desired in the stack, means for forcing the entire layer at onceonto the stack, and means for preventing the buckling of the layerduring the operation.

8. In a machine for stacking lumber, the combination with a support, ofmeans thereon for accumulating a layer of lumber edge to edge of thewidth desired in the stack, means for forcing the entire layer at onceonto the stack, and presser bars bearing on the top of said layer toprevent buckling.

9. In a machine for stacking lumber, the combination with a support, ofmeans thereon for accumulating a layer of lumber edge to edge of thewidth desired in the stack, means for forcing the entire layer at onceonto the stack, and presser bars bearing on the top of said layer toprevent buckling and extending over the stack.

10. In a machine for stacking lumber, the combination with a support, ofmeans thereon for accumulating a layer of lumber edge to edge of theWidth desired in the stack, means for forcing the entire layer at onceonto the stack, presser bars bearing on the top of said layer to preventbuckling, and means for increasing the pressure on said presser barsafter the layer has been accumulated beneath them and during theoperation of forcing the layer onto the stack.

11. In a machine for stacking lumber, the combination with a support, ofmeans thereon for accumulating a layer of lumber edge to edge of thewidth desired in the stack, means for forcing the entire layer at onceonto the stack, and means for separating the layer on the stack to formvertical air passages.

12. In a machine for stacking lumber, the

combination with a support,-of means thereon for accumulating a layer oflumber edge to edge of the width desired in the stack, means for forcingthe entire layer at once onto the stack, means for separating the layeron the stack to form vertical air passages, and means for depositingspacing sticks at regular intervals on said layer.

13. In a machine for stacking lumber, the combination with a support, ofmeans thereon for accumulating a layer of lumber edge to edge of thewidth desired in the stack, means for forcing the entire layer at onceonto the stack, automatic means for separating the layer to form airpassages, and auto matic means for depositing spacing sticks at regularintervals on said layer.

14. In a machine for stacking lumber, the combination with a support, ofmeans thereon for accumulatin a layer of lumber edge to edge of thewidth desired in the stack, means for forcing the entire layer at onceonto the stack, and means for maintaining said support and the top ofsaid stack at the same height whereby the lumber will pass directly ontosaid stack.

15. In a machine for stacking lumber, the combination with a fixedsupport, of means thereon for accumulating a layer of lumber edge toedge of the width desired in the stack, a vertically movable platformfor the lumber stack by the side of said fixed support, means forforcing said accumulated layer edgewise onto said stack, and means formaintaining the top of said stack at the same height as the support.

16. In a machine for stacking lumber, the combination with a fixedsupport, of means thereon for accumulating a layer of lumber edge toedge of the width desired in the stack, a vertically movable platformfor the lumber stack by the side of said fixed support, means forforcing said accumulated layer edgewise onto said stack, means formaintaining the top of said stack at the same height as the support, andpresser bars extending over said support and stack and adapted to bearon said layer to hold it in place.

17. In a lumber stacking apparatus, the combination with a lumber truckor car, of means for forcing layers of lumber flatwise onto said car,means for depositing spacing sticks in fixed positions on said layers,and, movable shields adapted to overlie the ends of said sticks andguide the layer of lumber into position on said sticks.

18. In a lumber stacking apparatus, the combination with a lumber truckor car, of means for forcing layers of lumber fiatwise onto said car,means for depositing spacing sticks in fixed positions on said layers,movable shields adapted to overlie the ends of said sticks and guide thelayer of lumber into position on said sticks, and means for moving saidshields out of the way as a succeeding layer of sticks is deposited.

19. In a lumber stacking apparatus, the combination with a lumber truckor car, of means for forcing layers of lumber flatwise onto said car,means for depositing spacing sticks in fixed positions on said layers,mov able shields adapted to overlie the ends of said sticks and guidethe layer of lumber into position on said sticks, and means for forcingsaid layer beyond the ends of said shields.

20. In a lumber stacking apparatus, the combination with a lumber truckor car, of means for forcing layers of lumber fiatwise onto said car,means for depositing spacing sticks in fixed positions on said layers,movable shields adapted to overlie the ends of said sticks and guide thelayer of lumber into position on said sticks, means for forcing saidlayer beyond the ends of said shield, and means for raising said shieldsout of the way as a succeeding set of sticks is deposited.

21. In a lumber stacking apparatus, the combination with a lumber truckor car, of means for forcing layers of lumber fiatwisc onto said car,means for automatically depositing spacing sticks in fixed positions onsaid layers, pivoted shields adapted to overlie the ends of said sticksand guide the layer of lumber into position on said sticks, and meansfor automatically turning said shields on their pivots out of the way asa succeeding set of sticks is deposited.

22. In a lumber stacking apparatus, the combination with a lumber truckor car, of means for forcing layers of lumber flat-wise onto said car,means for depositing spacing sticks in fixed positions on said layers,presser bars above said car adapted to bear downward on said layers oflumber, and stops to prevent longitudinal movement of said presser barsand sticks by friction against the moving layer of lumber.

23. In lumber stacking apparatus, separating means comprising pointsadapted to engage a flat layer of lumber, means for driving said pointsacross said stacking apparatus to separate said lumber, a fixed distanceand yielding connection between said points and driving means wherebythe lumber may stop without breaking the driving means if it strikes anobstruction.

21-. In a lumber stacking apparatus, separating means comprising sets ofpoints adapted to engage a flat layer of lumber on successive lineslongitudinally thereof, a shaft having arms for driving said pointsacross said layer, and means for connecting said points to said arms thesuccessive sets of points being connected to said arms at successivelygreater distances from said shaft whereby the amplitude of movement ofthe sets will be progressive.

25. In a lumber stacking apparatus, the combination with an oscillatingdriving shaft, of means for positively turning it a fixed distance, asecond shaft, separating mechanism connected to said second shaft so asto be operated thereby, and connections between said shafts soconstructed as to make them normally turn together but adapted to yieldwhen the separating mechanism strikes an obstruction.

26. In a lumber stacking apparatus, the combination with an oscillatingdriving shaft, of a second shaft parallel therewith, parallel fixed armson said shafts, a link pivotally connecting said arms, the connectionbetween said link and one of said arms being such as to permit said linkto slide outwardly from normal position along said arm, and a springtending to hold said link in normal position.

27. In a lumber stacking apparatus, the combination with presser barsadapted to extend across a stack of lumber, of separating means carriedby and adapted to slide on said. presser bars.

28. In a lumber stacking apparatus, the combination with presser barsadapted to extend across a stack of lumber, of separating points adaptedto engage the lumber when moving in one direction and mounted to slidelongitudinally of said presser bars, and means for reciprocating saidpoints.

29. In a lumber stacking apparatus, the combination with presser barsadapted to extend across a stack of lumber, of separat ing pointsadapted to engage the lumber when moving in one direction, longitudinalguides for said points on said presser bars, and means for reciprocatingsaid points in said guides.

30. In a lumber stacking apparatus, the combination with a support for astack of lumber. of open-sided hoppers on opposite sides of saidsupports adapted to engageand guide the ends of spacing sticks, andmeans for discharging said sticks one at a timefrom the ends of saidhoppers.

31. In a lumber stacking apparatus, the combination with a support for astack of lumber, of open-sided hoppers on opposite sides of saidsupports adapted to engage and guide the ends of spacing sticks, meansat the lower ends of said hoppers for supporting the ends of saidsticks, and means for discharging said sticks one at a time.

32. In a lumber stacking apparatus, the combination with a support for astack of lumber, of open-sided hoppers on opposite sides of saidsupports adapted to engage and guide the ends of spacing sticks, meansat the lower ends of said hoppers for supporting the ends or saidsticks, and means for moving the bottom stick longitudinally off of saidend supports.

83. In a lumber stackin apparatus, the combination with a support for astack of lumber, of open-sided hoppers on opposite sides of saidsupports adapted to engage and guide the ends of spacing sticks, meansat the lower ends of said hoppers for sup porting the ends of saidsticks, and means for oscillating the bottom stick longitudinally so asto successively release it from said end supports.

34. In a lumber stacking apparatus, the combination with a support for astack of lumber, of open-sided hoppers on opposite sides of saidsupports adapted to engage and guide the ends of spacing sticks, meansfor maintaining said support and hoppers in such position that the lowerends of said hoppers will be immediately above the sides of the stack oflumber on said support, and means for discharging said sticks one at atime from the lower ends of said hoppers.

35. In a device of the class described, the combination with narrowhoppers open on the sides facing each other, and adapted to receive theends of a pile of spacing sticks, narrow supports at the lower ends ofsaid hoppers adapted to support said pile of sticks, and means foroscillating the bottom stick longitudinally to release it from saidsupports and to allow it to fall.

36. In a device of the class described, the combination with narrowhoppers open on the sides facing each other and adapted to receive theends of a pileof spacing sticks, narrow supports at the lower ends ofsaid hoppers adapted to support said pile of sticks, means foroscillating the bottom stick longitudinally to release it from saidsupports and to allow it to fall, and yielding guides by the sides ofsaid hoppers and extending below the same to direct said sticks afterbeing released.

37. In a device of the class described, the combination with narrowhoppers open on the sides facing each other and adapted to receive theends of a pile of spacing sticks, narrow supports at the lower ends ofsaid hoppers adapted to support said pile of sticks, plunger-s adaptedto pass through the rear walls of said hoppers immediately above thesaid supports and to engage the ends of the bottom stick.

38. In a device of the class described, the combination with narrowhoppers open on the sides facing each other and adapted to receive theends of a pile of spacing sticks, narrow supports at the lower ends ofsaid hoppers adapted to support said pile of sticks, plunger-s connectedtogether and adaptedto pass through the rear walls of opposite hoppersalternately immediately above said supports and to engage the ends ofthe bottom stick in order to release said ends from said supports.

39. In a device of the class described, the combination with narrowhoppers open on the sides facing each other and adapted to receive theends of a pile of spacing sticks, narrow supports at the lower ends ofsaid hoppers adapted to support said pile of sticks, the rear wall ofone hopper being provided with an opening immediatelyabove said supportlarger than the end of one of said spacing sticks and the rear Wall ofthe opposite hopper being provided with a similar opening of less sizethan the end of said stick, and plunger-s adapted to enter said openingsto move said sticks longitudinally otf of said supports.

40. In a device of the class described, the combination with a lumberconveyer, of accumulating mechanism comprising stops separatedlongitudinally of said conveyer, and means for projecting said stopsalternately in the path of the lumber on said conveyer.

41. In a device of the class described, the combination with a lumberconveyer, of accumulating mechanism comprising stops separatedlongitudinally of said conveyer, means connecting said stops pivotallysupported between its ends, and means for os cillating said supportingmeans on its pivot to alternately project said path of the lumber onsaid conveyer.

+12. In a device of the class described, the combination with a lumberconveyer, of accumulating mechanism comprising arms pivoted betweentheir ends below said conveyer and extending longitudinally thereof,stops carried by the ends of said arms, and means for oscillating saidarms on their piv ots to project said stops alternately in the path ofthe lumber on said conveyor.

43. In a device of the class described, a conveyer adapted to receiveand accumulate lumber and to force it in a layer onto a stack or pilecomprising endless chains adapted to engage and move said lumber byfriction, a flexible stop for the lumber at the forward end of saidconveyer, and lugs on said chains adapted to positively engage the rearedge of said layer and force it past said stop.

44;. In a device of the class described, a conveyer adapted to receiveand accumulate lumber and to force it in a. layer onto a stack or pilecomprising endless chains adapted to engage and move said lumber byfriction, a flexible stop for the lumber at the forward end of saidconveyer, lugs on said chains adapted to positively engage the rear edgeof said layer and force it past said stop, and means for preventingbuckling of said layer when being moved by said lugs.

45. In a device of the class described, a conveyer adapted to receiveand accumustops into the the rear edge of said layer late lumber and toforce it in a layer onto a stack or pile comprising endless chainsadapted to engage and move said lumber by friction, a flexible stop forthe lumber at the forward end of said conveyer, lugs on said chainsadapted to positively engage the rear edge of said layer and force itpast said stop, and presser bars above said conveyer adapted to preventbuckling of said layer when being moved by said lugs.

46. In a device of the class described, a conveyer adapted to receiveand accumulate lumber and to force it in a layer onto a stack or pilecomprising endless chains adapted to engage and move said lumber byfriction, a flexible stop for the lumber at the forward end of saidconveyer, lugs on said chains adapted to positively engage the rear edgeof said layer and force it past said stop, presser bars above saidconveyer adapted to prevent buckling of said layer when being moved bysaid lugs, and means operated by said flexible stop for increasing thepressure on said bars as the layer is forced past the stop.

17. In a device of the class described, a conveyer adapted to receiveand accumulate lumber and to force it in a layer onto a stack or pilecomprising endless chains adapted to engage and move said lumber byfriction, a pivoted arm having one end projecting normally in the pathof said lumber at the forward end of said conveyer to act as a stop,presser bars above said conveyer adapted to prevent buckling of saidlayer, and springs between said arms and bars adapted to be broughtunder tension by the movement of said arms in permitting the lumber topass.

48. In a device of the class described, a conveyer adapted to receiveand accumulate lumber and to force it in a layer onto a stack or pilecomprising sprocket wheels, endless chains on said wheels adapted tomove said lumber by friction, and lugs on said chains adapted topositively engage to force it forward, the tops of said lugs being soformed as to force the lumber beyond the end of the conveyer as they godown around the sprocket wheels.

49. In a device of the class described, a conveyer adapted to receiveand accumulate lumber and to force it in a layer onto a stack or pilecomprising sprocket wheels, endless chains on said wheels adapted tomove said lumber by friction, lugs on said chains adapted to positivelyengage the rear edge of said layer to force it forward, and shieldsextending beyond the end of said conveyer and adapted to support thelumber, the tops of said lugs being so formed as to force the lumberbeyond the end of said shields as they go down around the sprocketwheels.

50. In a device of the class described, the combination of an endlessconveyer, of lugs thereon adapted to engage and positively move a layerof lumber, the said lugs having inclined upper surfaces adapted to forcesaid layer beyond the end of said conveyer by a wiping action.

51. In a device of the class described, the combination with an endlessconveyer, 0 drive shafts therefor, mechanism for stacking the lumbercarried by said conveyer, an endless chain carried by the said driveshafts, a projection or roller on said chain, an oscillating shaft foroperating said stacking mechanism, and an arm on said oscillating shaftin the path of said roller whereby it will be oscillated by said roller.

52. In a device of the class described, the combination with an endlessconveyer, of drive shafts therefor, mechanism for stacking the lumbercarried by said conveyer, an endless chain carried by the said driveshafts, a projection or roller on said chain, an oscillating shaft foroperating said stacking mechanism, and an arm on said oscillating shaftin the path of said roller so shaped as to permit the roller to passafter it has been turned a certain distance and as to engage said rolleron its return movement.

53. In a device of the class described, the combination with an endlessconveyer, of drive shafts therefor, mechanism for stacking the lumbercarried by said conveyer, an endless chain carried by the said driveshafts, a projection or roller on said chain, an oscillating shaft foroperating said stacking mechanism, and an arm on said oscillating shaftin the path of said roller having a notch in its side to permit thepassage of said roller after it has moved a certain distance and toengage said roller on its return movement.

54. In a device of the class described, the combination with anoscillating drive shaft, of an endless chain, means for driving saidchain, a projection or roller on said chain, and an arm on said driveshaft in the path of said roller so shaped as to permit the roller topass after it has been turned a certain distance and to engage saidroller on its return movement.

In a device of the class described, the combination with a support forlumber, of a vertically movable platform by the side of said support,means for stacking lumber on said platform in layers, mechanism forraising and lowering said platform, and means controlled by the stackingmechanism for throwing said raising and lowering means into and out ofoperation.

56. In a device of the class described, the combination with a supportfor lumber, of a vertically movable platform by the side of saidsupport, means for stacking lumber on said platform in layers, andautomatic means controlled by the stacking mecha nism for lowering saidplatform an amount equal to the thickness of the layer placed on thestack.

57. In a device of the class described, the combination with a supportfor lumber, of a vertically movable platform by the side of saidsupport, means for stacking lumber on said platform in layers, automaticmeans controlled by the stacking mechanism for lowering said platformafter each layer is placed thereon, and adjustable means for controllingthe amount of such lowering.

58. In a device of the class described, the combination with a supportfor lumber, of a vertically movable platform by the side of saidsupport, means for stacking lumber on said platform in layers, mechanismfor raising and lowering said plat-form, a clutch for operating saidmechanism, an arm controlling said clutch, and an endless chain on saidstacking means having a projection adapted to engage and turn said arminto operative position.

59. In a device of the class described, the combination with a supportfor lumber, of a vertically movable platform by the side of saidsupport, means for stacking lumber on said platform in layers, mechanismfor raising and lowering said plat-form, a clutch for operating saidmechanism, an arm controlling said clutch, an endless chain on saidstacking means having a projection adapted to engage and turn said arminto operative position, and means for changing the effective length ofsaid arm in order to regulate the length of time the clutch will be inoperation.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signa ture in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIE GRAHAM.

Witnesses:

GEO. DAVIS, E. H. MoCALn'r, Jr.

